Poet Meena Kandasamy quotes Periyar to tell Pragya what's in a caste name

New Delhi: Poet, scholar and activist Dr. Meena Kandasamy took to Twitter to respond to Malegaon bomb blast accused and BJP MP Pragya Thakur's controversial remark on caste names.

The young poet pointed out that 100 years ago Periyar EV Ramasamy had objected to being addressed as Shudra explaining what it meant under the Manusmiriti and caste system.

In a picture tagged with the tweet, Periyar was quoted as saying: "The name with which we are addressed, shudra, causes disgrace on our very birth, marks as a birth slave. Shudra means whoreson, prostitute son, concubine son, birth slave, purchased slave"

Pragya versus Periyar.

Speaking a 100 years ago he took objection to being called Shudra, explaining what it meant under the Manusmriti and caste system. Of course, Brahmins don't take offence because everything about that word denotes power, knowledge, holiness and entitlement. pic.twitter.com/3dghtDcAEm

— dr. meena kandasamy || இளவேனில் (@meenakandasamy) December 14, 2020

Kandasamy also tweeted that Pragya Thakur, and other Hindutva terrorists and Sanatanists were not unaware of what their usage entailed, or how grievously hurtful such references were.

Kandasamy was responding to Pragya Thakur's controversial remark where she asked why Shudras are objecting to being addressed with their caste names.

While addressing a gathering of the Kshathriya Mahasabha, the MP said:

"When a kshatriya is called kshatriya, they are not offended. Call a brahmin a brahmin, they are not offended; call a Vaishya a Vaishya, they are not offended. However, if you call a shudra a shudra, they are offended. Why is it's so? Because of ignorance, they are unable to understand."

#WATCH | Kshatriya ko kshatriya keh do, bura nahi lagta. Brahmin ko brahmin keh do, bura nahi laga. Vaishya ko vaishya keh do, bura nahi lagta. Shudra ko shudra keh do, bura lag jata hai. Kaaran kya hai? Kyunki samajh nahi paate: BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur in Sehore, MP (12.12) pic.twitter.com/CbCctxmACp

— ANI (@ANI) December 12, 2020

On the ongoing farmers' protest, Thakur said that the Left and Congress are agitating in the guise of farmers.

"Just as the people of JNU and the Left were involved in Shaheen Bagh, the same faces are now coming forward. Such people are working to harm the nation. Action should be taken on such people and it is better to put them in jail."

She also called for a law to control population growth "for those who indulge in anti-national activities."

Also, she said that reservation should be based on financial situation, not caste based.

Thakur has had courted controversies several times before. She had to apologise for her remarks on the death of former Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare, who was killed in the 26/11 attacks. She had said that her curse killed him.

She was also under fire for her remarks praising Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse.